Peter Koulen

University of Missouri, USA

Peter Koulen holds a Ph.D. degree. He has been a Professor of ophthalmology and basic medical science and also the Felix and Carmen Sabates Missouri Endowed Chair in Vision Research at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Medicine, Mo, USA, since January 2009. Dr. Koulen serves as the Director of Basic Research at the UMKC's Vision Research Center. His research includes optical imaging, electrophysiology, and biochemistry to elucidate mechanisms underlying basic physiology and pathophysiological processes at the molecular, cell, and system levels. Dr. Koulen was trained at the Max-Planck-Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, Germany, and at the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. He was awarded his Ph.D. degree in biology with an emphasis on zoology in 1997 followed by postdoctoral fellowships at Yale University School of Medicine and the Marine Biological Laboratory Woods Hole, Mass, USA. The goal of his research is the development of pharmacological and molecular biological treatments for disorders of the visual, renal, and central nervous system such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and cognitive decline during aging and Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, ischemia, polycystic kidney disease, and neurological disorders based on novel insights into the underlying physiology and pathophysiology. Dr. Koulen also serves as a Reviewer for national and international as well as private and governmental funding agencies. Several national and international funding agencies and foundations including the USA’s National Science Foundation and the USA’s National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and the Alzheimer's Association draw on his scientific expertise to determine the future course of their research portfolios. He is a regular presenter at scientific meetings, the author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles in physiology and biomedicine, and an editorial board member for six scientific journals.